|
You are in the storm of your life.
Emotions have commandeered all rational thoughts.
Your heart is slowly breaking as you feel abandoned.
Hopelessness begins to sit in.
You are so desperate that you will do anything just to
hear the voice of God saying, “I hear you.”
All of a sudden the
clouds of doubt roll back, and the rain of impatience ceases.
The storm is over. Yes!
God heard me!
Inside your mind you have battled through a pounding storm that
has ripped your faith to shreds.
Every obstacle that wasn’t tied down by the Word has
served as a spiritual projectile of doubt, hopelessness and
abandonment, capable of delivering a mortal wound to your faith
and those around you.
You instinctively know when your storm has
passed. You can’t
articulate exactly how you know it, but you do.
Every person has that
moment when they finally feel God saying, “I heard you.”
After the storm, the debris of your faithlessness has to
be cleaned up. Not
only have you weathered through another storm, but through your
hour of uncertainty you may have littered the faith of others.
Sadly, as humans we often separate and lean
toward what we feel in desperate times rather than what we know
(Proverbs 3:5). We
know that God hears prayers (John 9:31b).
We know that God answers prayers (Matthew 21:22).
The power of victorious living is to walk in the
authority of God’s Word rather than in our own interpretations
and emotional responses to life’s toils and snares.
So… why do we remain so anxious about hearing from God?
An answered prayer may be no simple matter to
God. Did you know
that God’s biggest resource to answered prayer is people?
While it is a fact that God uses the elements, animals,
as well as anything He chooses to proclaim His Word, the fact
remains that people are his favored vessel.
Did you know that people are no more responsible or
dependable to God than they are to their brothers and sisters in
the Lord? If you
can’t depend on them, neither can God.
If you can’t trust them, neither can God (Luke 16:10).
As a chess player you are taught from day one
that chess requires a strategy from the first move.
Not only do you have to plot a strategy to capture your
opponent’s King, but you must continually respond to your
opponent’s efforts to win the game.
As he moves his piece, you must counter and advance your
own strategy. Like
in the game of chess, God deals with people every day that serve
to advance their own agendas, goals and aspirations, all of
which are not always holy.
As God plans out an abundant life for you (John 10:10),
there are hindrances.
In fact, there are trials and tribulation; however, don’t
confuse these obstacles with God’s plan for you to win (Romans
5:3).
How many times have you felt led to say or do
something for somebody only to retreat out of fear or
uncertainty? Has it
occurred to you that God was using you as an answer to someone’s
prayer? You see,
just as you submit your own wants and needs through prayer,
others are praying as well.
Unfortunately, man is a free moral agent.
In other words, he can choose to obey God or not.
People resist God every moment of the day.
Imagine all the times you and I have resisted (1
Thessalonians 5:19).
The fact is, our resistance may be resulting in delayed answers
to other people’s prayers.
When we pray, consider all the people God has
to use along with all the circumstances God has to create,
change, and/or destroy just to get your prayer answered.
Now, imagine God using people that are weak in their
faith with little discernment to act on His command.
When one person chooses to resist, God employs another.
Consider a traffic cop standing at an
intersection directing traffic.
Every automobile has a destination, but each one must be
carefully directed to arrive safely.
We pay little attention to the things that are mundane,
but in order to reach your destination, the roads must be
maintained, the automobile must have fuel and regular service,
traffic signals must function, and all drivers must obey laws
and drive responsibly.
Imagine a huge symphony playing just for you,
one hundred people striking a note at the right moment to create
beautiful music that is orchestrated for you.
Now imagine this same symphony using the same instruments
keeping perfect time, playing separate songs for five different
people at one time.
My friend, this is a day in heaven.
Only there, God is balancing the whole world while
remaining equally as Faithful to every Christian’s prayer.
Daniel 10:12 says “Then said he unto me, Fear
not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine
heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy
words were heard, and I am come for thy words.”
When Daniel prayed the first time God heard his
prayer. God heard
Daniel’s words – his own words.
If you continue to read through this passage you find
that Michael the Archangel was in battle to get Daniel’s prayer
answered. This
resistance held up Daniel’s prayers for twenty-one days.
The lesson here is that Daniel didn’t give up
(1 Thessalonians 5:17).
God was committed to answering Daniel’s prayer from the
beginning. My
friend, God is just as committed to answering your prayers as
well. God has heard
your prayer. God
heard your words, exactly the way you prayed.
The Lord isn’t concerned about formalities in prayers; he
hears the tender prayer of a child as it is simply spoken.
Certainly there is power in solidarity (Matthew 18:19)
and people’s faith being exercised in prayer (James 5:15), but
remember, my friends, that God hears you.
The storms of doubt, hopelessness and
abandonment are in your mind.
I know these storms seem very real, but God’s Word must
prevail. Just as a
front drives the weather in this life, you must let the wind of
God’s Spirit coupled with your Faith in God’s Word drive out
these damaging storms in your life (Hebrews 11:6).
God is Faithful (Deuteronomy 7:9).
God never goes back on His Word (Luke 21:33).
God does not lie (Numbers 23:19).
Know this - heaven is moving earth to get you your
answer. It may take
moments, days or years for you to realize that God has finally
answered you; however, never forget that He heard you the first
time you prayed and more than anything He heard what you prayed
– your words.
|